Not sure I follow

The Christian movement -(actually called "the way")- was gnostic. They "invented" the concept of Jesus Christ by studying old scripture -(the Greek translation of old Hebrew writings which was called the Septuagint)- and interpreting meanings of perceived prophesies.

This Jesus Christ was to come -to appear- on the scene and fix everything for the Jews.

In anticipation of his arrival, these cell groups PRACTICED what they preached ... acting AS IF they were preparing the way for the arrival of this Jesus Christ. The groups were (likely) the Essenes, Ebionites ... maybe some others still not known.

They WROTE their perceptions and expectations.

Much later -around the middle of the second century- the ESTABLISHED churches had a problem because this Jesus Christ had still not arrived and their members were leaving. They then assigned scribes to go through the written archives and CONSTRUCT the arrival and life of Jesus Christ by compiling the story from the archives. These became known as "the 4 gospels."

The church (or some rabid group inside of the church) ... then DESTROYED the original works so that no one could check, compare and expose. They waged war on gnostics and essentially won.

Once the church was entrenched they -of course- became very corrupt and tyrannical. What they practiced was diabolically opposed to what the gnostics had stood for. This is how it always works: once a spiritual movement has been co-opted, it is turned into an institution for the purpose of enrichment and power. Power psychopaths don't give a fig for logic; they're after confusion and bamboozlement because this gives them advantage.

The key to spiritualism is that it's totally private. It CAN'T be explained by any person to any other person because EVERY person is located in a different place and HAS TO have a different perspective as a result. Spiritualism can never be turned into an organized institution. As soon as you do that ... you kill the spiritual aspect.